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Allusion
A reference to something literary, mythological or historical
Patrick urged his listeners not to be “betrayed with a kiss.”
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Denotation
The literal meaning of a word
Although the word “home” may suggest safety and comfort, it’s really simply “one’s residence.”
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Connotation
The implied or associative meaning of a word
“Odor” and “fragrance” literally mean the same thing, but good things have fragrance, bad things “odor.”
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Diction
Having to do with the word choices made by a writer
Hemingway uses few polysyllabic words; Dickens uses many polysyllabic words.
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Syntax
The manner in which words are arranged by a writer into sentences
A single sentence in a Faulkner work can sometimes be longer than an entire page, but Steinbeck tends to use Simpler, shorter sentences.
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Tone
The attitude of the speaker, usually implied, toward the subject
Sardonic, apologetic, light-hearted, somber
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Colloquialism
Words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing
Huck Finn says, “I got the fantods” to describe his nervousness and says “shin” instead of “run”
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Euphemism
An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant
In Victorian times, ladies were said to “glisten” rather than to “sweat” or perspire.”
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Oxymoron
An expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined
Jumbo shrimp, sweet sorrow, little giant
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Anaphora
The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences
“We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves.”
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Analogy
A comparison between two different things which are similar in some way
By comparing conducting to politics, Igor Stravinsky helped non- musicians understand his feelings about orchestra conductors.
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Invective
An intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal
“My opponent is a lying, cheating, immoral bully!”
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Paradox
An apparently contradictory statement which actually contains truth.
- Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.
“By indirections find directions out”
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Parody
A humorous imitation of a serious work
Spaceballs parodies the space epic genre- Thin Thighs in Thirty Years: an exercise book
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Aphorism
A concise statement which express succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy, and wise.”
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Hyperbole
Intentional exaggeration to create effect
There were at least a million people at the mall when I went shopping Saturday
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Apostrophe
The act of speaking directly to an absent or imaginary person, or to some abstraction
- “Author to Her Book”
- “O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?”
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Metonymy
Substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it.
“The White House issued a statement today.”
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Didactic
Something which has as its primary purpose to teach or instruct
Fables and Parables present morals; Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography shows his readers how to be successful
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Litotes
A type of understatement in which something affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite
My parents were not overjoyed when I came home three hours past my curfew.
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Extended Metaphor
A metaphor used consistently through a passage or poem
“Your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth,/….”
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Epizeuxis
The exact same word or phrase repeated
- “words, words, words.”
- “except my life, expect my life”
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Synecdoche
A comparison that employs a part to represent the whole
“all hands on deck” “I have an eye of you”
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Chiasmus
[ky-AZ-mus],a figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of two parallel clauses is reversed in the second. This may involve a repetition of the same words
- "Pleasure's a sin, and sometimes sin's a pleasure”
- “Nothing at all; yet all that is I see”
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Pleonasm
Use of similar or redundant words or syllables,often enriching thought for emphasis.
- “My soul is full of discord and dismay”
- “ He walked the entire distance to the station on foot” (“the entire distance and “on foot” are pleonastic; they are used to emphasize the length and difficulty of his walk)
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Epanalepsis
The repetition at the end of a clause of a word or phrase that occurred at its
“Blood hath bought, and blows have answer’d blows:/Strength match’d with strength, and power
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